


Tell My Brother, I'm Coming Home

by HQ_Wingster



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Medical, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Blind Kageyama Tobio, Bonding, Developing Friendships, Doctors & Physicians, Hinata Shouyou & Tsukishima Kei Friendship, Hurt Hinata Shouyou, Injury Recovery, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Verse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Realistic, Recovery, Slice of Life, Social Commentary, Summer Vacation, Therapy, Tsukishima Kei is Bad at Feelings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-16
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-03 02:39:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11522814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HQ_Wingster/pseuds/HQ_Wingster
Summary: Tsukishima Kei already had plans for his future. Obtain a job, marry, have two kids, live to old age, retire, and die before his spouse. Or so, he thought that was his plan until Akiteru “shipped” him off to Takayama (Kei is still salty about that).A beautiful, little town in the mountains. Home to a facility where anyone--Alpha, Omega, or Beta--can recover and find resources to help them adjust to the “monkey wrenches” in their life.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~A realistic-portrayal of an Omegaverse world, including: occupations, media, health issues, social stigmas, and meaningful recovery.





	1. I wish I wasn't lonely

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Luna_C](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna_C/gifts), [DarkWoods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkWoods/gifts).



> Basic Introduction:
> 
> Tsukishima Kei is a beta in a predominantly alpha/omega world. Ten percent of the world’s population is composed of betas. Small, percentage-wise. Quite large when you see the number (roughly 7,347,000 people). When Kei’s brother, Akiteru, signs him up for a Summer Program, Kei expects the worst.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betas were well-liked because they weren’t hormonal crazies, like everyone else. Betas were polite and forgiving, everyone’s best friend. Betas were the cream of the crop, the best in social interactions and always in harmony with others. Being a Beta was easy. Slap on some scent-neutralizing products, and you could be a Beta at the minimum cost of _$9.99._ Order your Beta-self now.
> 
>  _What a load of--_ Tsukishima promised his older brother that he stopped cursing months ago. If the dusty swear jar in Akiteru’s room was any indication.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is there shipping?!?!  
> ///I don't know. I'll update the tags///
> 
> Will we get cuddling?  
> ///hug moments. yes, eventually///
> 
> What inspired this?  
> ///realistic-moments in an omegaverse world makes me happy///

_The soap industry is running out of ideas._

* * *

 

Tsukishima remembered a very recent shopping trip. _Vividly._ Aisles upon aisles of tall, long, fruity, or musky soap bottles and their scents. Easily a small army in the tiny store that he and Yamaguchi visited before summer break. Yamaguchi decided to stay abroad during the holidays, wanted to find a bottle of soap in case his host-family didn’t have the right kind for him. Tsukishima poked a fruity bottle with the lightest touch.

“You checked off your dynamic, correct?”

“Hmm.”

It’d been a long time since Yamaguchi reverted to _that_ answer. Tsukishima kept browsing, puffing out a sigh when he saw how many aisles they had left. At least twelve, tightly packed rows of shelves. Ranged from the strongest scents imaginable to the lightest scents that covered up absolutely nothing. Tsukishima picked up two bottles, two opposing brands. One promised a sultry, sweet scent for any Omega in need. The other commented about how Omegas needed to neutralize their scent while in the summer heat.

Two opposing voices, parked right next to each other on a single shelving unit. One had a voluptuous female-figure, a bathrobe rolling over her shoulders as the shadows across her skin _emphasized_ what a woman might want to emphasize. Tsukishima spared his eyes from the details. The other bottle had a lanky male, ribs jutting out from his torso. Purple bags-- _or were those bruises?--_ hinged under his eyes. Hand covering something over his neck. When Tsukishima turned the bottle around to read the active ingredients inside, he averted his gaze from the _scene._ Inch-deep, claw marks. Seared across the modeling male’s back. Tsukishima knew it was makeup. He knew none of those injuries were real. He knew that the soap brand merely wanted to warn Omegas of the dangers of being out in heat.

There were better ways to do this.

Two different brands of soap, serving a different purpose. One, whispering: _Alphas, take a good look._ The other, muttering: _Alphas, take a good look._ It was obvious to who the target-audience was. And even though both soaps may’ve done a good job on whatever they were supporting, Tsukishima wondered who on Hell or Earth would buy these soaps and leave them on their shower stall? What was more sketchy? A nearly-naked woman or an abused man, staring at you from the corner of your showering-unit while you, _yourself,_ were also vulnerable.

Better yet, why wasn’t there _also_ a scantily-clad male on the “sexy bottle”? Why wasn’t there _also_ a hurt woman on the light-scented bottle?

Yamaguchi wasn’t an Omega, but Tsukishima brought the two bottles up to his friend. Asking him what he thought about them. Yamaguchi grimaced, averting his eyes from both bottles.

“Companies are desperate, Kei.”

“Companies can do better than _this.”_

“It’s not like the Alpha bottles are any better,” Yamaguchi said, adding in a shrug when he showed Tsukishima a bottle he picked out. A classic, maroon bottle with an Alpha pair-- _a man and a woman._ Complete with sculpted abs, ripped arms, and boxing gloves for both. An athletic streak in their eyes while a “dramatic” wind blew their sweat over the bottle’s brand name. Yamaguchi gazed down at the soap bottle with a pout. “Sometimes, I wished these bottles could show someone... _more like me.”_

Alphas like Yamaguchi were more common than the media usually suggested. Not every Alpha looked for a challenge, or wanted to grow big and muscular. There were plenty of Alphas out there who wanted peaceful lives. Enjoying simple lifestyles, where no one was afraid of them. Sure, _unmated_ Alphas were sometimes stereotyped as the rotten apples in the bunch, but not every fruit was an infected one. Yamaguchi was a prime example. Sweet, caring, supportive, and a friendly person to be with. Traits more commonly found amongst Omegas, but Alpha-society was gaining support for being gentle and friendly. Destroying a prime stereotype that media wouldn’t let go of.

Tsukishima had to applaud for that. Not to mention, Alpha soap bottles portrayed more gender-equality than the Omega ones. Not an opinion, but a fact. There was an article written recently that talked about the “great divide” between hygienic-products for Alphas and Omegas. Alpha-made products eased to change more easily than Omega-made products. No one knew why, but Tsukishima suspected that Alphas knew a thing or two about “not letting an argument drag, if it didn’t have to.” Something that Omegas were very stubborn about, from Tsukishima’s perspective.

“Kei?” Yamaguchi snapped his fingers. Tsukishima batted his eyelashes, easing back to reality. Easing back to this scary world that couldn’t stop fighting, even with body wash and shampoo.

“I don’t want to be here.” Tsukishima tucked his hands into his hoodie’s pockets.

“I can buy you a soap bottle real quick,” Yamaguchi offered. “Alpha, right?”

“Does it matter?”

“I’ll give you options. You can decide which one you like more.” Before Tsukishima could say anything, Yamaguchi disappeared into the mysterious forest of ads and soap bottles. Sighing, Tsukishima eventually found a store-bench and sat on it. Waiting by the pharmacy counter while Yamaguchi emerged and sank back into the soap aisles like a bobbing fish. Poking his head out to make sure that Tsukishima was still there, reeling back when he found something that his pal might like. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, arms crossed. Sneakers squeaky against the tiled floor. Too clean and shiny, but every store had to be clean and shiny. Especially around high-trafficking areas like a...oh, the hygienic aisles for an Alpha/Omega world. With a whopping ten percent of Betas mixed in, like raisins in a chocolate chip cookie. Completely normal on the outside, but chemically different inside.

Tsukishima knew all of the tired, old sayings.

Betas were well-liked because they weren’t hormonal crazies, like everyone else. Betas were polite and forgiving, everyone’s best friend. Betas were the cream of the crop, the best in social interactions and always in harmony with others. Being a Beta was easy. Slap on some scent-neutralizing products, and you could be a Beta at the minimum cost of _$9.99._ Order your Beta-self now.

 _What a load of--_ Tsukishima promised his older brother that he stopped cursing months ago. If the dusty swear jar in Akiteru’s room was any indication.

The truth was...being a Beta wasn’t great. Merely just a bunch of sprinkles on an Alpha/Omega cake. Mostly sprinkled towards the West while the East was lucky if there were one or two thousand in a _single_ country. And to be born with the short-straw in his mouth, Tsukishima Kei could testify that Betas _weren’t_ well-liked. Viewed as freaks while everyone else started to develop into their respective-dynamic. Seen as loners because their scent-glands weren’t fully-developed. Betas were only polite because they _had_ to be, lying between their teeth when an Omega or Alpha wanted an ego-boost.

Those scent-neutralizers were insults. The newest, hip-trend was to mask your scent so that nobody would know what your dynamic was. Not so funny when being a Beta could only cost someone about ten dollars while the _real_ deal had to spend thousands of dollars and hours to _at least_ be viewed as _normal._ Masking a scent was easy, drenching yourself with a scent was different. Tsukishima didn’t own any of those products, so he couldn’t leave reviews on eBay or on Amazon. But if he could, he’d say that it was worth more to just _change_ your dynamic than spend a life, smelling like a lie.

Eh...maybe smelling like a lie was better than overdosing on hormones. Trying to adjust to the Alpha or Omega voice lurking in your head, trying to get your “steroid” scent-glands to cooperate while foreign organs accepted or rejected you on the slightest whim. No wonder not many Betas participated in these trans-dynamic surgeries.

Tsukishima could go on and on, but he had no one to talk to. Everyone around him was normal. Had mature scent-glands, living lives where no one batted an eyelash about who they were. But if you were a Beta, people stared at you. Like you were a freak.

Tsukishima sighed. _No point in getting worked up like this._ Nothing was going to change. The sun kept rising, the sun kept setting. A never-ending cycle. Perhaps, it would’ve been better if Tsukishima had been an Alpha. Like the rest of his family.

The blonde escaped from his thoughts when Yamaguchi stumbled out from the aisles with two soap bottles. Shampoo/conditioner and a body wash.

“I hope you don’t mind the choices.” Yamaguchi wore one of his signature, toothy smiles. How could Tsukishima frown in front of that?

He took the offered bottles and read them carefully. Yamaguchi picked him a shampoo/conditioner combo that was meant for Omegas. Cartoonish dinosaurs decorated the bottle, promising soft and silky hair. The body wash was meant for Alphas. A broody, maroon color splashed the bottle while golden cursive highlighted the brand’s name. _Simple yet classic._ Tsukishima liked his choices.

Soap industries needed to do stuff like this. _More._

* * *

 

_Who would I die with if the world ended tomorrow?_

* * *

 

“Class, you’ll be filling out your registration form for next year. Please be serious with your answers. Universities will be viewing this when you send in your application forms.”

The teacher passed back the papers. One by one, the forms made it from end of the classroom to the other. Tsukishima yawned. _Of course,_ the class will be serious because the teacher asked them to be. They weren’t kids anymore, but the teacher still viewed them as such. Lips pursed as she gazed at each of her students, afraid of their futures. Perhaps, that was an inherent fear for any teacher. Understandable, but this was Class 2-A. College-prep class. The teacher didn’t have to worry, yet her biggest fear was only realized when students stared at the questions before them. Their pencils forgotten. Their erasers burnt on the edge. Teeth grinded, looking for a distraction.

Tsukishima rolled his eyes. He picked up his pencil and wrote. He checked off his dynamic. Pretty rare to see a Beta option on an official document, but this wasn’t the right time to dance and sing. The blonde’s future was at stake. He knew what school he wanted to go to, knew that what job he wanted to do, and Tsukishima did everything that he could. To stay on top of his academics and social life. A blunt attempt at being _normal._ An unneeded attempt because Tsukishima’s body wash always made him smell like an Alpha. Akiteru helped, too. Hugging his little brother before Kei went to school. An annoying habit, but a treasured habit. Nonetheless.

_Focus._

Tsukishima flipped to the second page while almost everyone else was stuck on page one. Tsukishima wrote so quickly that the questions in front of him began to blur. Everything in life had prepared him for this _exact_ moment.

_Be the best, do the best, hit the top, and beat the rest._

It didn’t mattered that his palm was slick with sweat, or that wearing a black uniform before summer break was a bad idea. It didn’t matter that the birds outside were more fascinating than the tattooed wood in front of Tsukishima Kei. If he couldn’t decipher his own future, what was the point.

Tsukishima had an idea.

He would find a good job and live comfortably while saving. Find a nice individual that shared his interests. Have a simple wedding, with Akiteru as his best man. Yamaguchi would cry during the ceremony, but he would have one of the best speeches during the after-party. Eventually, Tsukishima and his spouse would either adopt or try to have a child of their own. A girl and a boy. Live long enough to see the boy grow to be a successful young man. Live long enough to see the girl pursue her dreams and marry, if she chooses. Retire at the age of seventy, play Shogi until he couldn’t see the written characters on the pieces anymore. Die before his spouse. Find peace.

Tsukishima suspected that he was going to be someone’s “house-wife”. A treasured, little gem in a scary Alpha/Omega world. Tucked deeply into the domestic-sphere while his spouse took charge in the family. Left to raise the children alone, instilling them virtues and common sense. Be his spouse’s means of escape when times were tough. Sexually or not. Emotionally or not. Maybe, his spouse might trade him around. _History about Betas was foggy, and there was a reason why._ Alphas and Omegas didn’t want to admit that Betas were nothing more than playtoys with thoughts and feelings. Harsh, but Tsukishima knew a thing or two about the past. The past wasn’t nice. Simple as that.

But if that was his predetermined destiny, Tsukishima couldn’t do anything about it. It didn’t matter how hard he worked, or how hard he tried. It was always the same. No need to try, when the world didn’t want you to try. In the first place.

Tsukishima glanced over his shoulder. Yamaguchi was stumped on a question. Pencil between his teeth, scratching his cheek. Trying to figure out how he wanted to word something. Tsukishima frowned.

Yamaguchi had told Tsukishima before that he wasn’t sure about his future. At the time, Tsukishima didn’t say anything. Kept his mouth shut because his friend needed someone to talk to. In all honesty, Yamaguchi had nothing to fear. He could be anybody he wanted to be, without question. All because of the dynamic that came before his name. _Alpha._ Before a doctor declared whether or not if a baby was a boy or girl, they would check to see if there were _any_ early signs that could reveal what the baby’s eventual dynamic would be. Omegas and Betas were harder to tell. Alphas were a different story. The doctor saw _everything_ before an Alpha baby was even born.

Scans showed all the signs. Helped a lot since Alpha babies were more “show than tell” while in the womb. Something that Tsukishima’s parents often joked about whenever they talked about Akiteru, when he was little. Earning a red face from Akiteru before he mumbled that they should change the subject.

Speaking of “change the subject”, Tsukishima found himself stumped on the last question in the registration form.

_If the world was to end tomorrow, who would you spend your last day with?_

Didn’t specify if it could only be with one person, but the question acknowledged only one person. There was a tiny box, where Tsukishima was supposed to name someone. Why would universities need to know this? Nonetheless, Tsukishima had to answer the question. Or better yet, he left his answer ambiguous.

_With someone._

* * *

 

_Akiteru is kind of cool._

* * *

 

“Kei, can you come over here?” Akiteru gestured for his little brother to follow him. It was the last day of school, and Kei planned on going to the airplane with Yamaguchi. Just to make sure that his friend boarded his flight safely. Kei came down the stairs, hesitant when he reached the last step. When Akiteru smiled at him, Kei knew he was hiding something. Akiteru kept his defenses up, cool as a cucumber. Kind of skittish, but that was who he was. “I heard that Yamaguchi is staying abroad over the summer.”

“Yes?” Kei had no reason to make the comment a question, but why would Akiteru ask him this? _Unless he's..._

“You know, when I was young, I wanted to--”

“I don’t plan on going abroad.”

“You won’t have to.” Akiteru hooked an arm over Kei’s shoulders and led the younger male to the living room. Sitting on the coffee table was a letter. An envelope for a summer program. Kei eyed it, suspiciously.

“What are you up to?”

“Nothing that would hurt my little brother,” Akiteru teased. Rubbing his knuckles into Kei’s shoulder blade. Kei hissed. Akiteru apologized, saying that he forgot his own strength. Kei rolled his eyes. “I was just thinking: _Maybe Kei will like some different company for awhile.”_

Kei darted his eyes up to his brother. His glasses slid to the tip of his nose.

“What?”

“You’ll be fine,” Akiteru reassured. “Takayama is a great place for the outdoors. With all the mountains and such.”

Kei stared at him.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I didn’t want you to miss out. You’ll love it. Trust me. The culture and the setting--”

“Why are you telling me this? Now, of all times?”

Akiteru sat down on the living room sofa. Fiddled with his thumbs. When he spoke, Akiteru looked right into Kei’s eyes. “There’s a facility there that I think will help you. I didn’t want to say anything beforehand, in case it might disturb your studies.” Akiteru scratched his head, not sure of what to say next. “Look, even if you don’t want go, there are attractions in Takayama that you just can’t find anywhere else.”

 _“Am I freak to you?”_ The statement were so abrupt that Akiteru almost didn’t hear it.

“Kei…” Akiteru said the name slowly, quietly. Making his scent as approachable as possible, something that Kei didn’t want. He swatted the bubblegum-scent away from him, baring his teeth at his own brother.

_“I’m not going.”_

“It’s for your own good.”

Akiteru gulped. _Wrong choice of words._

There was a damn good reason why Betas only took up ten percent of the world’s population, and Akiteru took no pleasure in restraining his own brother. Using his hand as a makeshift-muzzle before Kei chomped his teeth down. Tearing into Akiteru’s palm, but the Alpha gritted his teeth. Restraining Kei’s limbs with a good arm, wrestling his younger brother to submit before he hurt himself. Pressed against the floor, Kei kicked and squirmed. A little voice in his head told him to fight back. A meticulous, little voice that grew with strength and savagery. The longer Kei remained immobilized.

In every Beta, there was an Alpha or Omega voice lurking in the back of their minds. Depending on the dynamic that they were originally assigned before the gene mutated. The voice was usually weak, easy to ignore. But under stress, even a forgotten voice had its advantages.

Akiteru had to calm Kei down. Under the jaw, there was a pressure point on the lower scent-gland that _could_ knock Kei out. If not, it would at least keep him still until Akiteru came up with another plan. Pinning Kei’s head with one hand, Akiteru reached down. Feeling his brother's neck until he felt a bulge. Kei growled. Akiteru took a chance. Letting go of Kei and covering the Beta’s eyes. Jabbing the pressure point on Kei’s neck until the teen’s growling ceased. Leaving Kei paralyzed until Akiteru let go. He caught Kei when the latter fell. A signature pout over his face, something that Akiteru hadn’t seen since...since Kei was a little kid. Busy digging for dinosaur bones-- _in reality, they were chicken bones that Akiteru buried after yesterday's dinner._

“When you talk to medical professions, they give you tips.” Akiteru winked. In a brotherly attempt to turn a frown upside down, Akiteru ruffled Kei’s hair like he used to. Laughing, during the entire process. _Someone_ had to be the _Mr. Smiles_ in the duo and frankly, Akiteru wanted his little brother to smile too.

* * *

 

 _My brother once told me:_ __  
_“Kei, you’re not a freak. No one’s trying to get rid of you._ _  
_ **_Except you.”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dynamic distribution:
> 
> Globally  
> Alphas and Omegas = ~90%  
> Betas = ~10%
> 
> Alphas = most common in East/Southeast Asia and the Middle East  
> Omegas = most common in Europe, the majority of the African continent, and the New World (North American & South America)  
> Betas = most common in the West, very rare in the East


	2. Please say, "You're okay."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Six years ago, if you asked me to play counselor to a bunch of know-it-all adolescents and butt-hurt adults, you would’ve seen me grinning like an idiot as I walked right down to Hell.”

_Dear Tadashi,_

_By the time you’re reading this email, I’ve crashed somewhere. Not in a hospital, but somewhere very similar._

_I hope you’re enjoying your stay in Canada. I heard that summers are very nice there, and I hope to hear from you soon. When you’re not busy, of course. Back to the topic at hand, today has been an eventful start for the holidays. I know for it a fact that this all started because of Akiteru._

* * *

 Sleep was glorious. If Humans didn’t need food or companionship, Kei would’ve spent every waking moment of his life in bed. Fluttering his eyes open for a few seconds to see a dancing palette of colors in his room before turning over, curling under the blankets. Nuzzling his face against his squishy pillow. Toes retreating under the fuzzy cave that Kei made for himself. Knees tucked against his chest so that Kei felt like a lonely asteroid. Floating around in an empty space. No collisions, no bright lights, and no _distractions._ Nothing could pull Kei out from his REM sleep. Not while the Beta was handling raptors in Jurassic World.

Hands in front of him, keeping the skeptical dinosaurs a good distance away while Kei picked up his explorer’s hat. Even in dreams, it didn’t hurt to sport an accessory.

“Delta.” Kei darted his eyes to the bluish matriarch of the pack. “Heel.”

Delta snarled, prompting Kei to snap his fingers. Grabbing the raptor’s attention. Left and right, the other raptors snapped their heads to their matriarch. Heads tilting side to side, listening in on the chatter curled under Delta’s stiff lip. Talons dug through the dry leaves underneath her.

Kei glanced at the subordinates, snapped his fingers. “Gamma, Beta, Mu.”

The three raptors turned to Kei, and the blonde motioned with his fingers. Allowing the raptors to come towards him. Completely _dangerous_ because this wasn’t Kei’s playground. In this enclosure, _behind the steel bars and the concrete walls,_ Delta’s rule reigned supreme. To her, Kei was merely an _underling_ that provided food and exercise. It wouldn’t take much to change the reptile’s mind. Delta waited for Kei’s next movie. The teen has successfully gotten Gamma, Beta, and Mu over to his side, but how long would they stay?

 _“Delta.”_ Kei wagged a disapproving finger when the matriarch stepped out of bounds. She was supposed to _heel,_ supposed to keep her distance away from Kei. _“Heel.”_

One look at Delta’s pearly set of teeth gave Kei dry-mouth. He gulped, roughly. Cleared his throat. He had to be firm. He knew Delta ever since the raptor was a hatchling. He helped Delta and her sisters hunt for the first time when they were barely a few weeks old. The matriarch couldn’t forget all of that. Delta owed her entire life to Kei, yet she was willing to take it all back. Ready to stake her claim, where it mattered most. One glance was all it took before Gamma, Beta, and Mu scampered towards Delta’s side. Leaving Kei defenseless against the four sisters.

If dinosaurs could talk, Kei could almost hear Delta’s jeers. Kei thought he heard it all before a whisper loomed in the back of his mind. _“You’re the Alpha of the group, of the entire pack. Don’t give-up so easily.”_

 _Great_. There was a voice in his head.

Kei had some strange dreams before, but this wasn’t the time to think about it. He had four, vicious raptors creeping up on him, and Kei didn’t need any distractions. What could he do?

This _was_ his dream. Kei had the ability to rewrite the story, persuade the raptors to lower their heads for not following his orders. Have Delta stripped from her rank and casted aside as a _lesser_ sister if he wanted to. But, those wouldn’t be Kei’s thoughts. He would just be carrying the orders from the tiny voice in his head. The inaudible whisper that occasionally grew with strength when Kei didn’t know what to do.

He didn’t want that. The voice didn’t care.

This was Kei’s dream, but it almost didn’t matter.

_“Rise and shine, ‘lil nugget!”_

Kei blinked. He wasn’t in an enclosure with vicious reptiles. He was in his bedroom, under a dinosaur blanket that he got when he was twelve. He wasn’t in explorer’s clothes, but in his PJs. Delta, the raptor, wasn’t staring at him, but Akiteru’s pearly teeth flopped Kei’s stomach over for some somersaults. Akiteru and... _Why his brother dressed like he was about to go camping?_ If Kei pretended that he was still tired-- _no need to pretend, big guy--_ Akiteru would leave him alone. Fun in theory, impossible in practice.

Akiteru rustled the blankets, running his fiddling fingers down his little brother’s side. Trying to tickle Kei, but the lone blonde had already killed the laughter out of him before sinking back under his blanket. Akiteru tugged the dinosaur blanket. Kei pulled it back. An endless battle of tugging before Akiteru let go, and Kei smacked his head against the headboard. Imaginary dragonflies circling over his head while Akiteru checked the time on his phone.

“C’mon, Kei.” He didn’t slap Kei, _per se._ Kind of nudged him on the cheek with the palm of his hand. Like he was going to slap, but Akiteru was a teasing-type of person. Too rowdy for Kei, but he returned a glare when Akiteru offered a radiant smile. Burning Kei’s retinas until he found his glasses. Akiteru was a blistering, spot of joy. Ignoring Kei’s stiff, upper lip. “You’re up. Good. We’re going to miss our train if we don’t head out soon.”

 _“Our_ train?” Kei blinked. Rising up slowly, Kei grabbed his phone and shone the torchlight. There was a suitcase at the foot of his bed. Clearly, it wasn’t _there_ when Kei went to sleep last night. When did...As long as Akiteru tucked a few books somewhere in the suitcase, Kei was going to be okay. He glanced down at the time. The top portion of his face darkened significantly. _“This early?”_

He didn’t get an answer back. Just a hoodie to the face, some socks, and pants. With how giddy Akiteru was, Kei shooed the Alpha out of his room before he got changed. Blocking the door with his suitcase so that Akiteru wouldn’t barge in. There was some whining, but Akiteru figured that Kei had enough teasing. _For now._

Kei got onto the floor, peered through the crack below his door. Watching as Akiteru’s feet disappeared down the hall outside, turned to the left so that he could wait in his own room.

* * *

_Turns out, I wasn’t the only one that didn’t want to go to the Summer Program._

* * *

 “Six years ago, if you asked me to play counselor to a bunch of know-it-all adolescents and butt-hurt adults, you would’ve seen me grinning like an idiot as I walked right down to Hell.”

Grinning from ear to ear, Kuroo poured half of the creamer he had left before tossing the carton back into the fridge. Hopping over the lines on the tiled floor as he grabbed his shoes-- _it’d be a sin if he wanted to crack his parents’ backs._ Kuroo mixed his watery coffee with a loose finger as he juggled Macy’s bags out of his apartment complex and into his tiny car. Damn it, there was no way he was going to be eco-friendly in this godforsaken tinker. Kuroo had to admit it, his vehicle of choice-- _the “baby” he bought with hard-earned paychecks--_ kind of looked like a joke. Like one of those toy cars that whizzed around inside a toy store, catching all the children’s attention.

It’s all fun and games until someone slaps you the key and you’re forced to drive the tinker onto the big streets.

Kuroo could blast his air-conditioning through the whole journey _if_ he recycled more than usual. To compensate for all the air pollution that the toy car will be belching for the next five to six hours. As long as there were freezie-pops in the community-kitchen at Takayama’s facility, Kuroo was going to be a-okay for the next...two weeks? Two months? The entire summer? Someone needed to edit the registration form for better clarity.

 _“Tetsurou? You still on?”_ Iwaizumi didn’t sound good at four in the morning. Considering that he was the _first member_ for a surgery about-- _Kuroo checked the time on his phone--_ three hours ago, it looked like Oikawa was going to have to buy them train passes. If he hadn’t passed out on the couch yet. Actually, if Kuroo didn’t know better, Dr. Oikawa was probably curled up against Dr. Iwaizumi. Right now. With a shared blanket across their laps, and Iwaizumi probably brushed aside Oikawa’s tickling locks. _Cute. “Kuroo Tetsurou!”_

“Yeah, yeah. Heard you the first time.” Kuroo elbowed a milk crate of clothes away from his face when he got into his coff-- _car, totally_ **_not_ ** _a coffin in any shape, way, or form_. While Kuroo wrestled for his seatbelt, his ears perked up when he someone hack up a lung on the other end of the line. “You know, I don’t think Tooru is doing well. Shoot, you don’t sound too hot either. Let’s say we go on a strike. How does that sound?”

For a moment, it really did seem like all the cards were playing to Kuroo’s favor. The pediatrician felt it. But when Kuroo drove his tiny car out of the parking lot and down the sleepy streets of Hasetsu, there was a long-drawn sigh before Iwaizumi gave his answer. Very nonchalant.

_“Temping, but no.”_

“But you were tempted, yes?” Kuroo waved at an elderly couple before he snapped on his left turn-signal.

In the theatre of the mind-- _or, in Kuroo’s twisted imagination--_ he saw Iwaizumi cracking his knuckles, sneaking a little hug from Oikawa, and then growling into the phone like his life depended on it because there was a _live_ bomb right in front of him. Okay, too far.

Iwaizumi facepalmed himself. _“Doctor K. Tetsurou, do you even hear yourself right now?”_

“‘Course I do, so why aren’t you growling yet?”

Iwaizumi groaned. Too early in the morning for _this._

The Alpha made himself very clear. By noon or in the afternoon, if Kuroo’s ass wasn’t in Takayama, he’d have to hear from the Chairman’s son. _Himself._ Kuroo asked if he had to _moon_ someone to still be in the clear, but the pediatrician cleaned up his act when a growl erupted from the other end of the line.

What was Kuroo thinking? He knew better than to agitate an Alpha beyond their prime. Speaking of prime, Kuroo slurped some of his awful coffee before asking Iwaizumi if he had proposed to _you-know-who._ If only scents could be transferred digitally. If they could, Kuroo wouldn’t have asked such a “stupid” question. But when it came to friendship and years of suffering in med-school, no question was stupid. _Even the stupid ones._ So, what was Iwaizumi’s answer? Kuroo had his ear, heart, and soul open to hear the one-word reply.

 _“I’ll tell you what.”_ Kuroo could hear Iwaizumi’s grin, loud and clear. _“I’ll tell you my answer when you show up at the facility in Takayama. Deal?”_

Kuroo would’ve shrugged, but Iwaizumi couldn’t see him. “Sure.”

_“I need a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’, Tetsurou.”_

“You sound more like my Papa with each passing day,” Kuroo teased, stopping at a red light to settle the _situation_ behind him. If he didn’t want to die on this journey, Kuroo needed to make sure that everything was secure in the back. Yeah, _not_ going to happen when he could barely use his rear-view mirror for anything. A colossal box was in the way, and the pediatrician kept one eye on the streetlights while the other eye tried to wrestle the mess in the back. A shoulder hunched up, holding onto Kuroo’s phone as he said his farewells to Iwaizumi. And then, his phone had _the nerve_ to fall onto the carpet. _Great._

Why did Kuroo sign up for this? But while his mind drifted off as the moon began to fall towards the horizon, Kuroo felt a tinge of gratitude. Just because he had no one to look up to, it didn’t mean he had to deny that experience to the younger generation. _What am I? Retired?_ Kuroo blew off a laugh as he drove down a never-ending road.

* * *

_Other than some difficulties on the way, I thought that everything was going to be okay._


End file.
